BMX

Everyone needs a bike to roll around on when they’re not on a group ride, racing off road, or training for the Olympics, and The Shadow Conspiracy and LA streetwear kings The Hundreds have created just the right 26 inch BMX bike for doing that.

The one-of-a-kind bike comes with an old-school drop nose seat adorned by a sublimated custom graphic and retro-inspired pad set. This bike isn’t just a looker, built with the guts and glory of The Shadow Conspiracy proprietary custom parts, including their signature Shadow Chain.

The bike, along withmatching jersey, tees, pullover, and hat, to go along with it, will be released tomorrow, March 28, 2019. If you want to check it out, roll by The Hundreds on Fairfax in Los Angeles at 5:30 PM for an “LA Mash” to Lock & Key on Vermont. For all the details, follow the jump.

As if bicycle retailing in general can get any worse Emerald Expositions, owners of among other things the Interbike and Outdoor Retailer trade shows announced on December 6, 2018 that they were canning the 2019 Interbike show in Reno.

Instead, the company will research alternative plans for 2020 and beyond, including the opportunity to launch events featuring bicycling and bike-related components within or alongside its various successful, multi-sport trade show franchises.

In other words, until Emerald Expositions figures out how to save their flagging business all bets are off. Likely, Interbike will be thrown in with one of the Outdoor Retailer/SIA Snow Shows in Denver, Colorado. This on the heels of their President and CEO David Loechner announcing a rather immediate departure from the company on November 1, 2018 doesn’t seem suggest that bright a future for the company nor trade shows in general. Follow the jump for the official word from Emerald.

Dirt jumping wizard Brandon Semenuk has joined the Bonx team. What is Bonx? We wondered the same thing. It’s apparently a Bluetooth earpiece that “enables cellular network-based group communication with up to 10 users anywhere in the world.” Kind of like an always-on conference call of rad, apparently.

“I’m so grateful to have this opportunity to work with BONX,” says Semenuk. “To be a part of an innovative outdoor tech brand is awesome. The BONX products will be a valuable asset for my endeavors in both mountain biking and rally. It’s also a great crew, and I’m excited to explore the possibilities with the product.”

The new bike park will feature flow lines that incorporate natural elements, wooden features and obstacles such as berms, wall rides and jumps. Trails and flow lines will vary in difficulty for beginner to advanced riders. “The goal in designing the Woodward Tahoe bike park is to create a fun and unique experience that represents Woodward’s commitment to innovative facilities,” commented Jake Kinney, mountain biking pro and action sports director at Woodward West in Tehachapi, California. “We want riders of all abilities and ages to enjoy the time they spend on their bike and feel confident with their riding.”

The park should be up and running by early July 2017. Sounds like a cool place to roll by this summer. For the official word from Woodward, please follow the jump.

Our first bike was a beautiful, stock, metal flake blue Schwinn Sting-Ray coaster with matching grips and a white banana seat. We had friends who had Apple and Orange Krates and we longed for the accessories (especially the gear shifter with the big 5 on it). Since we already had the bike, we talked our dad into helping us upgrade. By the time we were finished customizing, the bike had curled out bars, a monster sissy bar, and a shock up front. It was dope. And we’re still bummed that by the time we turned 13 we’d painted it black and turned it into a BMX bike.

But there is hope. Schwinn, a zombie company alive today in name only, announced that they are re-releaseing a limited edition of 500 Lemon Peeler bikes.

“The Schwinn Lemon Peeler is one of the most recognized Schwinn bikes,” said Milissa Rick, Schwinn Senior Director of Marketing. “We’re excited to make this bike available to those who always wanted to own a Schwinn Sting Ray. This is an opportunity for us to also share our story with a new audience.” . . . The limited edition Lemon Peeler will feature a spring suspension fork, a Schwinn 16-inch front wheel and a 20-inch Sting-Ray Slik rear tire just like its original counterpart. Additionally, the bike is equipped with a striped banana seat, fenders and a coaster brake.

Owning a re-release is not the same as owning a classic, but damn, it looks good. Doesn’t it? The Schwinn Lemon Peeler will reportedly be available from Amazon.com soon for $349.99. We’re kind of hoping if this goes well that they will release some other colors (and five speeds), as well. Follow the jump for the official word from Schwinn.[click to continue…]

Rolling Stone takes a look at the sadly shortened life of Dave Mirra and tells his story again in light of the new awareness his death has caused in action sports regarding concussions and CTE.

Mirra’s death shook all corners of the action sports world, and also revealed something rarely discussed: just like in the NFL, where the implications of CTE have become one of the league’s biggest stories, extreme sports athletes suffer dozens of concussions over the course of their careers. In the months since Mirra’s death, fellow riders have started talking amongst themselves about CTE, wondering if this was the beginning of something much bigger. “It had been an underground conversation for a long time, but Dave’s death made it public,” says Jay Fraga, a former BMX racer who runs the Knockout Project, a concussion awareness program for athletes. “This was a wakeup call.”

We weren’t the biggest fans of Otto Designs smartphone based rear derailleur tuner (reviewed here on DigitalTrends.com), but their new product, the Ottolock looks like a really smart way to secure a bike when you have to leave it for a short time (to get coffee, or run into a store for milk). We haven’t tested it, but it definitely looks like a step in the right direction. It’s light, doesn’t require a key, and can easily wrap around more than one bike. What more do you need?

Yeah. Today was a pretty big deal in Olympic BMX. That’s because today was the first time an American has won gold in the event that was invented in the United States.

The USA’s Connor Fields (of Las Vegas, Nevada) was one of four American riders who made it into the final medal round in men’s BMX. After getting what he called the best start of his life it made it first to the line for the gold.

“It was in the final turn that I realized these last 17+ years of riding all came down to this one moment,” Fields said about the last 70 meters to the finish. “My experience in London taught me that it doesn’t matter how you get to the finals, it doesn’t matter what gate – everyone has a chance. I had the best start of my life in that final and today was my day. My chance.”

Connor wasn’t the only American to medal. In the women’s event Minnesota’s Alise Post landed a silver medal. American’s also finished in fourth place in both the Men’s and Women’s events. Not a bad day for USA BMX. For the official word, please follow the jump.

In celebration of their 50th Anniversary Vans is dropping their second installment of their Classics Anniversary Collection which this time includes a couple tributes to some of Vans’ best BMX team members.

With tribute releases inspired by freestyle BMX pioneer Eddie Fiola and cherished BMX innovator Dennis McCoy, the fall assortment upholds Vans’ unwavering support of the BMX sport, and aptly coincides with the release of Vans’ first full-length BMX film, Illustrated—available now on iTunes.

Which reminds us — it’s about time we all watched Rad again, isn’t it? For the official word from Vans, please follow the jump.